Saga - OT Rise of the Rogues (AU) 12-19

Hoth –

“Echo station 5-7 we’re on our way.” Rogue Leader reassured the forward post. Speeding over the troops below who hurried to their stations. Nesiti Ovun Rogue Eight took another deep breath to try to calm the nerves and fear which ate away at her. Checking her readings for the tenth time she tried to focus herself on the threat in front of her. In this case it was multiple threats slowly marching their way towards Echo Base. Imperial Walkers filled the horizon as Rogue Squadron closed into attack range. This was by no means a fight in which they had to win. In fact most saw this as just something they needed to get through.



“Harpoon cable is all set Nes. We’re all green on my end.” However this time the usual brand of cockiness from Liam Burgan did not get the usual laugh out of her. He must have noticed that when they had rushed for the speeder. “You hear Dak going on about how many Imps he’s going to label? Don’t mind getting at least four of those things would you? Sort of had to bet on you with me being the gunner and all…”



“Alright boys keep tight now.” Falling into formation Rogue Squadron avoided the waves of incoming fire that the AT-AT poured out on their enemies. Her eyes darted up to the skies above her watching as one of the transports headed off with two X-Wings escorting it. “Attack pattern Delta go now!” Breaking off Nesiti banked hard right towards two walkers following closely to Rogue Nine.



“Never seen one of these up close. Saw the holos from all the times the Imps would drop them into battle zones.” Trying to get into her zone she fired at the legs of the first walker as Rogue Nine went for the body of the AT-AT. She gritted her teeth as incoming fire came a little too close. Though the walkers were slow their fire power was more than enough to tear through the speeders. The speeders were never built to be a fighter like her X-Wing. Not that it would do her much good in this terrain. Rogue Leader had briefed them on the capabilities that were available to them, and it basically broke down to flying.



“Well I much prefer seeing it in here than being on the ground.” Liam answered. From what she caught below it seemed the front line was being thoroughly punished by the walkers. Smoke was rising from blaster cannons. “Hopefully Eron makes it out of this one alright. Need to pay off that blasted debt from Yaga Minor to him.” It was no secret that Liam was fond of the gambling life. Something in which many in the Rebellion took him up on knowing he would go over the edge to make the bigger bet.




“That armors too strong for blasters.” Rogue Leader stated the obvious from the attack attempts that had gone on thus far. Rogue Nine erupted into flames in front of Nesiti as she dropped down nearly impacting the snow.



“Rogue group use your harpoons and tow cables! Go for the legs, it might be our only way of stopping them.” A frustrated sigh came from Liam as he grabbed the controls of the harpoon gun. From the drills they had run so far he had hit only two of the ten targets. Something that had caused a good ribbing from Dak and Jansen.



“Rogue Eight you and Rogue Five take the walkers heading towards the southern pass.” Banking left another speeder crashed into the ground as the AT-ATs continued on their march to the main generator. More smoke rose into the air signaling that the troops below were having no luck at all. Nesiti focused on the lead walker as Rogue Five went for the diversion. Dropping to the legs of the walker she began to make circles around it avoiding the legs as they came down.



“Activate harpoon.” She ordered feeling sweat on her brow. Continuing the circle she let herself smile seeing that Liam had hit his mark.



“Nice shot Rogue 10!” Rogue Three chimed in. Liam let out a shout of his own. The countdown ran down in her head as Nesiti waited until the final pass. The legs on the walker terrified her beyond anything as she feared slamming into them. There was no time for her to let that consume her. She had been in her share of battles, and she was a pilot of Rogue Squadron she had the skills. She just needed to believe in them.



“Cable out…..let her go!” Liam confirmed what her console was telling her.


“Detach cable!”



“Cable detached.” Staying low they both watched as the walker attempted to step forward only to shake violently. It slammed into the ground which was followed by cheers from the other Rogues.



“Now that is a sight to remember!” She knew that Liam had the ego to match the Death Star, but he had his rare moments now and again.



“Good work Rogue Eight cover me while I……”Rogue Five shouted as an AT-ST had fired directly impacting the cockpit. The fiery speeder crashed into the ground.



“Jovan that better be your transport.” She muttered as another transport attempted to escape from the Imperials that awaited them in orbit. Her brother had been reassigned to transport protection before the battle had begun. He had argued with his Commander about wanting to be with the others from his squad wanting to be on the frontline. That was something she was thankful for when he had broken the news about going to the transports. She doubted that they would hold out much longer before the walkers wiped away the generator.



“Hobbie I’ve been hit…..” Rogue Leader was out of her sight as Nesiti scanned for his speeder. There was too much fire coming from the walkers forcing her to turn away. That was when the evacuation order came in from command. The other Rogues broke off their attack as it was clear that the Empire had overpowered them. The generator exploded from the intense fire as the speeders raced to their evacuation points where their fighters awaited them.



“Hope the Princess was right about that ion cannon.” Liam began to unstrap himself as Nesiti spotted their zone. A transport was taking off as she began the landing process. “Or else this is going to be one short flight for us.”



“Nesiti you and Liam have the rendezvous point locked into your navi computers?” Wedge Antilles asked hopping out of his speeder. Brushing snow off of her visor she nodded pointing to her astromech droid that was already waiting for her.



“Know how many transports got away?” They all three broke into a light jog to their X-Wings. Imperial troop landers began to appear from the sky.



“The first few got through perfect.” Wedge answered climbing the ladder to his cockpit. He stopped at the top looking up for a moment. “Other than that I couldn’t say. We’ll find out at the rendezvous.” With that he nodded to the both of them as his cockpit closed.



“Try not to miss me too much Nes. You have to be there to tell the others about that walker we took down!” Liam chuckled strapping into his X-Wing. He removed his red helmet for a moment scratching his hazel hair which he had let grow out of boredom on Hoth.



“Why don’t you just focus on not getting blasted by the Star Destroyers.” She replied noting his grin in response. Strapping in herself she pointed her X-Wing to the sky throwing all her power into speed.



“As soon as we can make the jump R6 do it. I don’t want to attract any of those ties our way.” The droid confirmed that it did not want to stay around longer itself. Breaking into space she noted the Destroyers in all their glory surrounding the planet. A few she noted showed the damage done by the Ion cannon. Her stomach clenched from the transports that had not been able to escape. Closing her eyes she was thankful for the sight of hyperspace. She unstrapped her helmet letting out a deep breath her mind was racing with what she had just been through, but more so on worries for her brother.



Her brother and Uncle were the only family she had in this Galaxy. Their parents had been killed in a transport accident when she was a mere child, and from there they were taken in by their Uncle Kolan Ovun. She recalled the stories her father had told them when she was little about the sort of life Uncle Kolan lived. The man had taken a liking to the thrill of the more shadowy life the Galaxy offered. Something which did not sit well with his father Senator who had a reputation to uphold. Having been disowned by their Grandfather when he was only 16. From there he had seemingly vanished popping up at random occasions with some colorful characters. Yet it had been Kolan who taught her to fly when she was young, and even let her pilot his prized ship Jawa Vortex. Most of the time he left them in the care of people that most parents would be terrified at the mere idea of being caretakers. He never spoke much about what took him away for weeks at a time. Only mentioning that it was work, and they shouldn’t worry about it.



The chime from R6 woke her from the sleep she had fallen into. She did not want to see what she looked like when she got out of her X-Wing. Hyperspace came to an end as she was welcomed by the array of ships which made up the Rebel Fleet. To be honest it was quite an array of old ships and newer ones which had been added over time. Most of the ships around her had made their way to the medical frigates while she made her way to one of the massive Mon Calamari Cruisers.



“This is Flight Officer Ovun designation Rogue Eight requesting landing clearance.” Waiting as the shield to the hangar lowered she positioned herself for the spot that had been ordered to her from the ship. It seemed a somewhat decent mess in the hangar as her ship touched down next to a Y-Wing that was close to be nothing more than scrap. An array of pilots and other personnel walked around or stood in groups discussing the events of Hoth. She scanned for any familiar faces noting Liam who was handing out credits to a small line that had appeared.



“Now here I thought you would have trailed my transport with the speeder.” She turned quickly tossing her helmet playfully as Jovan caught it with ease. He studied it for a moment admiring his reflection tucking it underneath his arm. She had sworn to give up her efforts to pester him to shave the mess he called a beard. “Looks like I actually need to pay Liam for once on a bet.”



“Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind.” His height over her had been hard for her to take years ago. It took away some of the power of being the older sibling when you have to look up at the younger one. They hugged as she reached up to pat his bald head.



“Lost some good people on that ice hell.” She admitted as they walked through the hangar. There would be time to remember those who didn’t escape, and enough drinks to help the pain. A few more fighters had landed, and the deck crews were already rushing around to survey the repairs. Expecting to leave the hangar she was surprised when her brother turned right moving to the larger ships.



“I haven’t heard how many from my unit didn’t make it out of there. Honestly don’t even want to think about it. Though I think I might know someone who could cheer you up…..” Her eyes went wide when she caught sight of Uncle Kolan seemingly arguing with a protocol droid.



“Sir I must remind you that Alliance Command clearly states….”



“I have never hit a droid before, but I can easily have a blaster accident you keep talking.” The laughter from the two caught his attention as he grinned at his niece and nephew. He gave the droid a decent shove as he embraced them both. His towering height had offered her protection and comfort after her parent’s death, and though at first his one eye had been terrifying she had grown to accept that. In fact he often would joke about the patch which covered it. The armor he wore hid the muscles that he consistently boasted about.



“You must be the most troublesome Captain within the Alliance.” Nesiti joked watching the droid mutter as it gave up on its effort. Most likely another would be sent in its place until Command would pick the unlucky officer to discuss matters with Kolan.



“They only gave me the blasted position, because of my work back on Yavin during the evacuations. Not a lick of military knowledge in here, but connections is what the Rebels want.” Reports had gone around stating the rather tense meetings that occurred whenever Kolan got into some new issue. Yet he was given some leeway due to plethora of connections, and also bringing Nesiti and Jovan into the Alliance. “Wait until I show you two the new additions I got for the Jawa. She will be the darling of the fleet you wait and see…..”



“Sorry to interrupt the family reunion Captain.” Wedge announced stopping a few feet away from them. “And no I’m not here to take you to the brig.” Kolan laughed at the mere thought of that occurring.



“Let me guess new mission?” Wedge nodded as Nesiti had somewhat looked forward to a nights sleep. She had figured that she would get such a short time to touch base with her family before going back into the fray. Hugging Jovan she moved to her Uncle who gave Wedge a somewhat challenging look.



“Got a briefing with General Madine first thing in the morning.” He looked exhausted himself. Yet he kept his head high, and gave a nod to Jovan as he turned to leave. “As for tonight I think we all earned ourselves a chance to recover what we can. Plus Liam is covering the drink cost in the mess.”